The Premier League’s midweek games conclude with Bournemouth’s visit to West Ham United where we have once again put together the trends, mathematics, stats and the teams form for this match at the London Stadium.
West Ham are looking to close the gap on the top five this week with the Hammers sitting adrift of Tottenham Hotspur by five points ahead of the latter’s clash with Brentford on Wednesday. This also sees West Ham above Newcastle United by three points with this game in hand to play too.
David Moyes is speaking to the press ahead of tomorrow's clash with the Cherries 🗣️— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 31, 2024
David Moyes is speaking to the press ahead of tomorrow's clash with the Cherries 🗣️
David Moyes' men did draw 2-2 away to Sheffield United last time out, while they were also beaten by Bristol City in the FA Cup third round replay a few days prior to that.
This means their only win within the past five games has been that stunning win away to Arsenal.
Tomas Soucek kept up his excellent goalscoring form that day to put him on eight goals within the past 15 matches. Konstantinos Mavropanos also bagged for the Hammers at the Emirates.
Bournemouth are sitting down in 13th, but their sensational form shown throughout November and December put them on a seven-game unbeaten run, including a famous 3-0 win away to Manchester United and a 2-0 home win over Newcastle.
The Cherries have since lost to Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in the league, but a 3-2 FA Cup third round win away to Queens Park Rangers and a 5-0 battering over Swansea City in round four puts them in round five's fixtures this month.
Bournemouth continue to be one of the most injury-ridden teams this Premier League season and they are still without summer signing Tyler Adams after his thigh injury.
Hamad Traore is also out for a few more weeks, although we could see the returns of Philip Billing and Adam Smith.
Dango Ouattara is at the Africa Cup of Nations and misses out again, while Max Aarons, Ryan Fredericks, James Hill and Darren Randolph all remain sidelined.
West Ham's hectic schedule within Europe, the Premier League and an FA Cup replay with Bristol hasn't made their physio room much quieter than Bournemouth's.
Lucas Paqueta is the biggest miss, and he is out until around March. Said Berahman's red card means he is out suspended, but the long-awaited return of Michail Antonio could come this weekend.
Edson Alvarez is set to be assessed for this game, but Mohammed Kudus and Nayef Aguerd are both still at AFCON.
Forebet predicts a win for West Ham and over 2.5 goals.